Diet fads come and go. Eat less carbs and eat more fats. Eat high protein, but now don’t eat too much protein. Try this 30 day no carb challenge. Go on a 3 day juice cleanse. This can be so overwhelming, both mentally and physically. But what if eating for health didn’t have to be this challenging?
Food is made up of building blocks, known as macronutrients. Macronutrients are more commonly known as:
· protein
· carbohydrate
· fat
These are the 3, very important, life sustaining components of all the foods available to us. And these nutrients need to be eaten daily in order survive and thrive. In fact the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 state that we should aim for:
· Around 45–65% of our daily calories coming from carbohydrates.
· Around 10–30% of our daily calorie intake coming from protein.
· Around 20–35% of our daily calorie intake coming from fats.
So, you see it is quite simple, eat a healthy balanced portion of these three macronutrients and you are on your way to elevating your fitness, becoming stronger, and reaching all of your goals. But it is important to recognize that the amount of each macronutrient that you eat is unique to each of us and a personalized nutrition plan will help you more than any diet fad ever will.
The number one nutritional tip that anyone can receive is to work with a health professional that can look at your lifestyle and activity level to ensure you are eating the right amount of these building blocks of food to help keep you full, healthy, and strong.
How can each of these macronutrients serve us? Carbohydrates Carbohydrates get the short end of the stick. Low carb diets are all the rave. But, this macronutrient should account for nearly half of our caloric intake each day. So why does it have such a bad reputation?
Well, not all carbohydrates are created equally. Essentially, carbohydrates provide us with energy. Energy for our bodily functions, for our muscle contractions, and everything that we do on a daily basis. Carbohydrates don’t only give us energy but they help to preserve our muscles. If we run low on carbohydrates, our bodies start to break down other things in our body, yes fat, but also our muscles that we work so hard to build.
So, to best utilize carbohydrates, for optimal function, energy, health, and fitness, choose your carbohydrates more carefully. Aim for complex carbohydrates that take longer to release their energy, eliminating high blood sugar spikes and crashes. Complex carbohydrates include most vegetables, some fruits, and fiber.
Broccoli, apples, potatoes, and quinoa are great examples of healthy, energy providing, complex carbohydrates. Snickers candy bar, apple juice with added sugars, and simple table sugar are examples of quick acting carbohydrates that spike blood sugar levels, increasing risk of diabetes, and leaves you with an energy crash.
The number one nutritional tip when it comes to carbohydrates, choose foods that are complex carbs, high fiber, and considered fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. Following this tip and avoiding excessive simple sugars can be a game changer in your lifestyle transformation program.
Proteins Protein is probably the one macronutrient that you know the most about. Protein helps to build your muscles, making you stronger, leaner, and more toned. This building block of food should account for around 30% of your total intake for the day. It may be more or less depending on your body type and activity level. Some diet fads place emphasis on eating high protein, but our bodies can only digest and use so much protein per meal. So, if you don’t eat enough protein one day, you cannot really make it up the next day. It is best to eat a healthy, balanced portion of protein with most of your meals.
Honestly, protein does so much more than build muscle. It is the building block for our organs, a component of our blood, plays a role in our hormone production, and helps our muscles to contract.
Healthy protein options include eggs, fish, poultry, red meat, and milk. These animal based protein sources contain all of the essential amino acids, which create protein. There are also plant based protein sources such as beans, nuts, peas, broccoli, and even potatoes. But be sure to supplement with amino acids as plant based sources do not contain all of the essential amino acids our bodies need.
Fats
Fat may be one of the more confusing macronutrients. One day we are told to eat a low fat diet. The next day we are told to eat a high fat, keto diet. Why not simply aim for a health balance of fats?
Healthy fats are an essential component of our nutrition. One major nutritional tip when it comes to fat is to avoid trans-fatty acids and partially hydrogenated oils. These types of fats are chemically made and are hidden in a lot of our snack types of food, crackers, salad dressings, margarines, etc. This type of fat increases our levels of bad cholesterol and lowers our levels of good cholesterol.
Another nutritional tip to follow when it comes to choosing fats is to choose unsaturated fats over saturated fats. Examples of unsaturated fats include soft fats like oils. Saturated fats include hard fats like butter or fat found on meats. Healthy fats, are used throughout the body and nearly all bodily functions, plus fat can be used as a form of energy.
Fat is used in all of our cells as a protective membrane, it helps to make hormones, synthesizes vitamin D, provides energy when we are running low on carbohydrates, powers our brains, and can actually lower our risk of heart disease.
So, next time you are thinking about trying a new diet or workout regime, remember one thing. For a real lifestyle transformation program to be successful, you need to work on the mental and physical component, but you also need to understand the true function and purpose of the foods that you eat. Different foods should not be viewed as bad or off limits. All of the macronutrients are important to our health and fitness, we just need to ensure we are choosing the right types and right amounts for our body, our activity level, and our lifestyle.